Using salt to melt ice can damage plants
Follow directions on bags of ice melt when salting slippery areas on walks. Many people apply too much ice melt, which can cause damage to walks and adjacent plants.
Consider using sand on slippery areas. Mixing a small amount of ice melt in with sand can also be effective and minimize the amount of ice melt used.
Calcium- or potassium-based products will be less damaging to plants than sodium chloride products. Always shovel before spreading the de-icing material.
• Water any evergreen shrubs planted in containers for the winter during warm and dry periods. Evergreens continue to lose water through their leaves, so providing supplemental water during winter will help prevent winter burn of the leaves.
Cyclamen plants prefer quite cool indoor conditions. Water them only when the soil dries out, and avoid splashing water on foliage. Remove faded flowers and their stems as soon as possible to keep the plants blooming and looking good.
• There are two approaches to managing the fuel left in four- and two-cycle engines.
One option is to drain the fuel out of the gas tank and run the engine to get all of the fuel out of the fuel lines and carburetor. Fuel that sits for a long period of time ages, and residues can form that may plug the small fuel jets in the carburetor; removing the gasoline eliminates this problem.
The other option is to fill the tank and add a gas stabilizer into the gas tank and run the engine to get the treated gas into the carburetor. If you are using a gas that has ethanol in it, then it is important to use a stabilizer that is made to eliminate corrosion associated with alcohol fuels.
• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.